Doodle Inspirations – August 7
At NDP we pride ourselves on staying on top of the industry – what’s new, what’s trending, what’s surprised us. Here are a few things from this week that caught our attention and got us talking:
Some additional theater/movie discussion got us going this week with Disney’s announcement of scrapping their theater release of Mulan and shifting toward a Disney+ release on September 4. While the article title brought cheers from our resident Disney+ subscribers, we were curious to understand the $30 “pay-per-view” price and what that means. Given the release aligns with the Labor Day holiday weekend, we’re excited to see what results come from this release as we’re not sure this will be a “one-off” situation as Disney leadership has indicated, but could rather be testing the waters for additional future business opportunities.
Two months may seem like ages from now, but candy companies are already thinking about Halloween and changing their plans. With $4.6 billion possibly on the line (based on last year’s sales numbers for the industry), some companies like Hershey have already shifted away from Halloween-themed production. A Harris Poll survey done in July had just over 25% of parents saying they plan on taking their kids trick-or-treating and citing concerns of COVID. Given a majority of candy sales happen in the two weeks prior to Halloween, we are interested to see how marketing around the festive day will be different than years prior.
Marketers like us love a good persona, and Ketchum has provided some new ones for the travel industry. As synopsized by MediaPost, most would-be travelers are still wary of traveling because of their fellow travelers. Safety protocols remain the highest concern. While most hope to return to some type of travel habit (staying in hotel, flying in planes, using public transit) within the next 7 – 11 months, travelers intention will most likely look different. For instance, business travel will likely be reduced as virtual solutions during the pandemic have provided favorable results. We found this persona work very interesting as it combines both business and casual travelers and reflects sentiments that we’re seeing and hearing from our business traveler counterparts.
Mental health has taken center stage in recent months with marketing campaigns from websites, apps and local resources. Ginger is an on-demand mental health service provider. As a start-up, they’ve been able to become one of the largest mental health providers by focusing on companies with employer-operated health insurance plans working with companies such as Delta Air Lines, SurveyMonkey and Sephora. We love seeing the growth of efforts like these focused on making healthcare needs more accessible so populations can improve their overall health.
While many companies would cringe at receiving a bad review, this 1-star inspired artwork of national park reviews made us all smile. With retro design and “word-for-word comments of underwhelmed visitors,” the artist – Amber Share of North Carolina – is on a mission to design artwork for all 62 national parks in the US. With 58 parks completed to date, the artist plans to go global next focusing on parks in other countries. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be watching her Instagram for updates of her latest designs.